STAN LOCK

The Telegraphs news article about Stan Lock, 14, who shaved his head to a ‘number one’ haircut to raise money for a Cancer Charity sent shock waves through me. What a backwards society we live in. His school, Churchill Academy placed him in isolation as his head teacher decided that his haircut was too extreme.

Churchill academy’s website states that parents are urged to check with the school before pupils have an ‘extreme hair colour or style’

It’s 2015 and I strongly believe awareness of cancer should be first talked about in schools. Going through cancer I realised the subject is so often hidden and brushed under the carpet. The reality is that it should be openly discussed so peoples attitudes and views on cancer can finally change. We need education on cancer awareness and it should start with young people.

Cancer cases are growing especially in Children. In the western world we live in many people are eating more and more processed and sugar fueled foods. I go into schools to talk to kids about living a healthy non-toxic lifestyle. Helping to educate young people on how to look after their bodies to give them the best chance of living a healthy disease free life. Mindfulness and understanding your mind, body and soul are key life lessons. If we teach kids early they will develop life skills that will help them be less stressed and depressed, keeping their immune system as healthy as possible giving them greater chance of never developing serious illnesses. Education and awareness are key!

Instead Churchill Academy are sending this boy home when he is trying to change the system and peoples views in his own remarkable way. I hope this doesn’t dampen his spirit.

Shouldn’t individualism be encouraged? Why do we all want to look the same and be so narrow minded. I had hair extensions and braids at school thank goodness my head teacher didn’t send me home.

Having cancer I walked the streets with my bald chemo head for 9 months. Proud that I didn’t hide behind a wig. This was the reality of what I was going through and I actually thought my bald head was beautiful. My soul shinned through rather than hiding behind my long blonde hair of the past. It was liberating. There were tough times as well. Like the time everyone at the train station was staring at me so badly I went to buy a hat and couldn’t put it on my head fast enough. I slowly realised I was being silly and the only way to make cancer less scary for people was to show the reality of what I was experiencing. Why did I want to hide behind an awful shiny wig. I had cancer not an infectious disease.

Having a bald head educated me in many many ways. It gave me inner strength, taught me about how others perceive you and in doing so helped me break down social barriers. It helped me talk openly to strangers and friends about cancer. People would often thank me saying ‘we never know what to say to someone with cancer so we say nothing at all. Thanks for being open and helping teach us that it shouldn’t be a subject that can’t be approached’

Nothing about Stan’s haircut is extreme in any way. He is simply trying to raise support for cancer awareness. The funny thing is his head teacher sending him home has raised so much more awareness than he could have imagined. I hope more kids follow in Stan’s footsteps. If I had a son or daughter I would be so proud if they shaved their heads and went out into the world to change the system.